To thine own self be true

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”

“The day, water, sun, moon, night… I do not have to purchase these things with money.”

“Simplicity is the glory of expression.”

(mixed-media carved wall-plaque by artist-friend Don Pimm illustrating William Carlos Williams’ classic poem “The Red Wheelbarrow”)

“The greatest truths are the simplest.”

(Mellancamp’s honest lyrics and stripped-down music about working-class and poor people’s lives)

“Only from the heart can you touch the sky.”

“Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self.”

(Leonard Cohen, once upon a time, enjoying some rich solitude at Stanley Park)

I’ve had more than my share of vision/s.”

No-brainer suggestion for Edmontonians.

Remember the less fortunate. Consider donating toward the poor and people on the street so they can have a decent dinner.

(We give to Hope Mission and the Mustard Seed.
There are other worthy organizations to give to as well.)

Significant Influence and Close Friend who passed in 2009. Professor of Secondary Education–English, U of A. He fine-tuned my fledgling notions of how to teach the subject before I entered the classroom. He was wise beyond his years and had once been in a class taught by Robert Frost at Harvard. He published my first educational article and sent me ‘problematic’ student-teachers over the years afterward. I sent him a Christmas card every year from 1972 to 2008 and he often sent back a yearly newsletter. We stayed in contact by phone discussing subjects like Emily Dickinson and poetry. One winter he hosted me to the Edmonton Symphony season (I drove) and we lunched at Gabbanas before every show. Many a civilized conversation there about poetry, literature, language, classical music, and the arts. It was, perhaps, befitting that I had the distinct pleasure of giving his eulogy at his funeral. One of his highest compliments was for my Inside Poetry (2nd ed.) which included one of his best poems. He thought it was a major opus and an important, definitive book on poetry. High praise from an educator I greatly respected and still miss.

First of its kind in Canada, built in 1960 to commemorate a Royal visit. Restoration completed in 2020, but appears empty. Always a related highlight: the 12 zodiac mosaic tiles on the outside out front still.